current as of 13 September 2019

A sense of wonder

Stephan Micus PanagiaECM ***1/2With settings of Byzantine Greek prayers Stephan Micus returns for his twentieth album for ECM with Panagia, an astonishing tally for the Mallorca-based German composer who defies categorisation. Only rarely on a concert stage in the UK, though returning for a concert in April at Kings Place in London, Micus, who turned 60 earlier this month, sings and performs on an array of instruments on this his latest album released last week, including Bavarian zither, dilruba, chitrali sitar, and his own customised 14-string guitar. On Panagia, the Virgin Mary, Micus meditates via a concept of female energy inherent in the symbolism. New Agey, contemplative, and thought provoking, the album comes into its own on the third track ‘I Praise You Lady of Passion’, but it’s an hour of music with its alternating sung poems and instrumentals you need to experience as a single entity, preferably in one hearing. A music based on a sense of wonder and mysticism. SGStephan Micus above